Here's How You can Combat Stress

The theme of the international day for global mental health awareness, education, and advocacy against social stigma set by the World Federation for Mental Health in 2021 is ‘Mental health in an unequal world’. This highlights the need to focus on mental health in an unequal world that is struggling to sustain after the breakout of the novel coronavirus. In a country like India where mental health services were already very limited and restricted, the pandemic has pushed the system to the brink of collapse.

As humans, we always prefer routines and hate uncertainty. Routines give a sense of having control over your life and normalcy. This sense of control allows people to manage and tackle problems better in life. When people do not have one, they spend a lot of time establishing one. The sudden imposition of the lockdown restrictions completely disrupted people’s routines. This took away the sense of control. As a result, people got anxious and nervous that took a huge toll on people’s mental health.

You are not the only one whose routine is getting disrupted. Every single person is facing the same challenges across the country. This eliminates the chances to find calm in some other person as well. When every single person around you faces the same lack of control and uncertainty and there is no real anchor holding the stress, panic starts spreading among people. With high stress and in a constant state of panic, people can start experiencing mental health problems. Although short-term stress can help you to feel motivated, chronic stress can have detrimental effects on both your physical health and mental health. Although physical health is often treated, mental health gets ignored, unfortunately. However, in many cases, it has been found that mental health problems can lead to several physical health issues. For instance, when a person is anxious or depressed, his or her immunity system gets weaker as well. Hence, stress can strain your health and reduce your productivity.

To reduce stress during COVID-19, you must focus on things that help to bring a sense of control in life and boost confidence. Creating a daily routine to balance your work life and private life is helpful during the pandemic because it gives you a sense of control over things amidst uncertainty. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), you should exercise for 150 minutes at moderate-intensity or 75 minutes at vigorous-intensity every week. Avoid watching negative NEWS all day as well.

You can try various other ways to manage stress but every technique might not work for everyone. If you find something that helps you to calm down, stick to it. By learning how to manage stress, you can lead a more peaceful and happier life. In case you need more help, you can call KIRAN, a mental health rehabilitation helpline number 1800-599-0019 at any time.